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Holy Kitab I Aqdas
Texts 1-19
Texts 20-38
Texts 39-57
Texts 58-76
Texts 77-95
Texts 96-114
Texts 115-133
Texts 134-152
Texts 153-171
Texts 172-190
Holy Kitab I Iqan
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Epistle to the Son of the Wolf
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Prayers & Meditations by Bahaullah
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Section 23
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Prayers and
Meditations by Bahaullah:
Section 14 |
CX
I know not, O my God, whether I should speak forth the wonders
of Thy praise among Thy servants, and lay bare before them the
secrets of Thy mercy and the mysteries of Thy Cause, or keep
them wrapped up within the receptacle of my heart. Though the
lover be loth to share with any one the intimate conversation of
his beloved, yet at whatever time Thine inescapable commandment
to declare Thy Cause reacheth me, I will unhesitatingly obey it.
I would proclaim Thee, undeterred by the darts of affliction
that may rain down upon me from the clouds of Thy decree.
I swear by Thy might! Neither the hosts of the earth nor those
of heaven can keep me back from revealing the things I am
commanded to manifest. I have no will before Thy will, and can
cherish no desire in the face of Thy desire. By Thy grace I am,
at all times, ready to serve Thee and am rid of all attachment
to any one except Thee.
What I desire, however, O my God, is that Thou shouldst bid me
unveil the things which lie hid in Thy knowledge, so that they
who are wholly devoted to Thee may, in their longing for Thee,
soar up into the atmosphere of Thy oneness, and the infidels may
be seized with trembling and may return to the nethermost fire,
the abode ordained for them by Thee through the power of Thy
sovereign might.
Thou dost consider, O my Lord, how Thy dear ones are sore
pressed by Thine enemies, and hearest from all sides their
sighing by reason of what hath befallen them in Thy path. Thou
knowest, O my Lord, that their one desire was to seek Thy face,
and that the sole Object of their adoration was Thee. They who
wronged them had no other purpose except to turn them away from
Thee, and to extinguish the fire which Thou hadst kindled with
the hands of Thine almighty power.
Unseal the lips of Thy will, O my Lord, and let a word proceed
therefrom that shall subject unto itself the world and all that
is therein. How long shalt Thou behold these things and tarry, O
my God? Darkness hath enveloped the whole earth, and Thy tokens
are ready to be blotted out throughout Thy realm.
Forgive me, O my God, for what I have spoken, for Thou art the
One that knoweth all things, and in Thee are wrapped up the
secrets that are hid from all else except Thyself. When Thy
promise shall come to pass, Thou wilt manifest what Thou wilt,
and subdue as Thou pleasest. We should wish only what Thou hast
wished for us. In Thee is the knowledge of all things, and with
Thee is the issue of all things. Thou art, verily, the Truth,
the Knower of things unseen.
Forgive me, then, my sins and the sins of them that love me, and
supply them with the good of this world and of the next.
Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Compassionate.
CXI
Praised be Thou, O my God! Thou beholdest both the helplessness
of Thy dear ones and the ascendancy of Thy foes, both the
wretchedness of Thy chosen ones and the glory of them who
gainsaid Thy Cause and repudiated Thy signs. The latter deny Thy
tokens, and fail to repay Thee for the temporal benefits Thou
didst bestow upon them, while the former yield Thee thanks for
what hath befallen them in their eagerness to partake of the
everlasting gifts Thou dost possess.
How sweet is the thought of Thee in times of adversity and
trial, and how delightful to glorify Thee when compassed about
with the fierce winds of Thy decree! Thou knowest full well, O
my God, that I endure patiently whatsoever toucheth me in Thy
path. Nay, I perceive that all the members and limbs of my body
long for tribulation, that I may manifest Thy Cause, O Thou Who
art the Lord of all names! The waters of Thy love have preserved
me in the kingdom of Thy creation, and the fire of my
remembrance of Thee hath set me ablaze before all that are in
heaven and on earth. Great is my blessedness, and great the
blessedness of this fire whose flame crieth out: "No God is
there save Thee, Who art the Object of my heart's adoration, and
the Source and Center of my soul!"
Thy glory beareth me witness! Were all that are in the heavens
and all that are on earth to unite and seek to hinder me from
remembering Thee and from celebrating Thy praise, they would
assuredly have no power over me, and would fail in their
purpose. And were the infidels to slay me, my blood would, at
Thy command, lift up its voice and proclaim: "There is no God
but Thee, O Thou Who art all my heart's Desire!" And were my
flesh to be boiled in the cauldron of hate, the smell which it
would send forth would rise towards Thee and cry out: "Where art
Thou, O Lord of the worlds, Thou One Desire of them that have
known Thee!" And were I to be cast into fire, my ashes would--I
swear by Thy glory--declare: "The Youth hath, verily, attained
that for which he had besought his Lord, the All-Glorious, the
Omniscient."
How, then, can such a man be fearful of the combination of the
kings to injure him in Thy Cause? No, no, I swear by Thyself, O
Thou Who art the King of kings! Such is my love for Thee that I
can fear no one, though the powers of all the worlds be arrayed
against me. Alone and unaided I have, by the power of Thy might,
arisen to proclaim Thy Cause, unafraid of the host of my
oppressors.
To all that dwell on earth I cry aloud and say: "Fear ye God, O
ye servants of God, and suffer not yourselves to be kept back
from this pure Wine that hath flowed from the right hand of the
throne of the mercy of your Lord, the Most Merciful. I swear by
God! Better for you is what He possesseth than the things ye
yourselves possess and the things ye have sought and are now
seeking in this vain and empty life. Forsake the world, and set
your faces towards the all-glorious Horizon. Whoso hath partaken
of the wine of His remembrance will forget every other
remembrance, and whoso hath recognized Him will rid himself of
all attachment to this life and to all that pertaineth unto it."
I implore Thee, O my God and my Master, by Thy word through
which they who have believed in Thy unity have soared up into
the atmosphere of Thy knowledge, and they who are devoted to
Thee have ascended into the heaven of Thy oneness, to inspire
Thy loved ones with that which will assure their hearts in Thy
Cause. Endue them with such steadfastness that nothing
whatsoever will hinder them from turning towards Thee.
Thou art, verily, the Bountiful, the Munificent, the Forgiving,
the Compassionate.
CXII
Thou beholdest, O my God, how bewildered in their drunkenness
are Thy servants who have turned back from Thy beauty and
caviled at what hath been sent down from the right hand of the
throne of Thy majesty. Thou didst come, O my God, in the clouds
of Thy spirit and Thine utterance, and lo, the entire creation
shook and trembled, and the limbs of them who repudiated Thy
testimonies were made to quiver, O Thou in Whose grasp is the
lordship of all things!
Thou art He, O my God, Who hast summoned all men to turn in the
direction of Thy mercy, and called them unto the horizon of Thy
grace and bounties. None, however, heeded Thy call, except such
as have forsaken all things save Thee, and hastened unto the
Day-Spring of Thy beauty, and the Dawning-Place of Thine
inspiration and Thy revelation.
Thou knowest, O my God, that none can be found on the face of
the earth to remember Thee except them. Thou seest how the
oppressors among Thy creatures have laid hold on them. Some, O
my God, have shed their blood in Thy path, others have abandoned
their homes and set their faces towards the seat of Thy throne,
and were hindered from stepping into the court of Thy great
glory, while still others have been cast into prison and are at
the mercy of the workers of iniquity.
I implore Thee, O Thou Who holdest in Thy hands the reins of
unconstrained power, to succor them through the wondrous potency
of Thy might. Misery, O my Lord, hath taken hold on them in Thy
path, exalt them by the power of Thy sovereignty; and weariness
hath afflicted them in their love for Thee, render them
victorious, through Thy strength and Thine omnipotence, over
Thine enemies.
Aware as I am, O my God, that Thou hast decreed for them that
which excelleth whatsoever is in Thy heaven and on Thy earth, I
still cherish the desire that Thou mayest behold them in Thy
days exalted and honored by Thy creatures. Supreme art Thou over
Thy creation. All are held within Thy grasp, and lie prisoned in
the hollow of Thy hand. No God is there but Thee, the
All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
CXIII
Magnified be Thy name, O my God! I testify that if Thy servants
were to turn towards Thee with the eyes Thou didst create in
them and with the ears wherewith Thou didst endow them, they
would all be carried away by a single word sent down from the
right hand of the throne of Thy majesty. That word alone would
suffice to brighten their faces, and to assure their hearts, and
to cause their souls to soar up to the atmosphere of Thy great
glory, and to ascend into the heaven of Thy sovereignty.
I pray Thee, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the Ruler
of both earth and heaven, to grant that all who are dear to Thee
may each become a cup of Thy mercy in Thy days, that they may
quicken the hearts of Thy servants. Empower them also, O my God,
to be as the rain that poureth down from the clouds of Thy
grace, and as the winds that waft the vernal fragrances of Thy
loving-kindness, that through them the soil of the hearts of Thy
creatures may be clad with verdure, and may bring forth the
things that will shed their fragrance over all Thy dominion, so
that every one may perceive the sweet smell of the Robe of Thy
Revelation. Potent art Thou to do what Thou willest.
The power of Thy might beareth me witness! Whoso hath drunk of
the cup which the hand of Thy mercy hath borne round will strip
himself of all things except Thee, and will be able, through a
word of his mouth, to enrapture the souls of such of Thy
servants as have slumbered on the bed of forgetfulness and
negligence, and to cause them to turn their faces toward Thy
most Great Sign, and seek from Thee naught else except Thyself,
and ask of Thee only what Thou hast determined for them by the
pen of Thy judgment and hast prescribed in the Tablet of Thy
decree.
Send down, then, O my God, through Thy Most Great Name, upon Thy
loved ones what will, under all conditions, draw them nearer
unto Thee. Thou art, verily, the Almighty, the All-Glorious,
Whose help is implored by all men.
CXIV
Mine eyes are cheered, O my God, when I contemplate the
tribulations that descend upon me from the heaven of Thy decree,
and which have encompassed me on every side according to what
Thy pen hath irrevocably established. I swear by Thy Self!
Whatsoever is of Thee is well pleasing unto me, though it
involve the bitterness of mine own death.
He Who was Thy Spirit (Jesus), O my God, withdrew all alone in
the darkness of the night preceding His last day on earth, and
falling on His face to the ground besought Thee saying: "If it
be Thy will, O my Lord, my Well-Beloved, let this cup, through
Thy grace and bounty, pass from me."
By Thy beauty, O Thou Who art the Lord of all names and the
Creator of the heavens! I can smell the fragrance of the words
which, in His love for Thee, His lips have uttered, and can feel
the glow of the fire that had inflamed His soul in its longing
to behold Thy face and in its yearning after the Day-Spring of
the light of Thy oneness, and the Dawning-Place of Thy
transcendent unity.
As to me--and to this Thou art Thyself my witness --I call upon
Thee saying: "I have no will of mine own, O my Lord, and my
Master and my Ruler, before the indications of Thy will, and can
have no purpose in the face of the revelation of Thy purpose. I
swear by Thy glory! I wish only what Thou wishest, and cherish
only what Thou cherishest. What I have chosen for myself is what
Thou hast Thyself chosen for me, O Thou the Possessor of my
soul!" Nay, I find myself to be altogether nothing when face to
face with the manifold revelations of Thy names, how much less
when confronted with the effulgent splendors of the light of
Thine own Self. O miserable me! Were I to attempt merely to
describe Thee, such an attempt would itself be an evidence of my
impiety, and would attest my heedlessness in the face of the
clear and resplendent tokens of Thy oneness. Who else except
Thee can claim to be worthy of any notice in the face of Thine
own revelation, and who is he that can be deemed sufficiently
qualified to adequately praise Thee, or to pride himself on
having befittingly described Thy glory? Nay--and to this Thou
dost Thyself bear witness-- it hath incontrovertibly been made
evident that Thou art the one God, the Incomparable, Whose help
is implored by all men. From everlasting Thou wert alone, with
none to describe Thee, and wilt abide for ever the same with no
one else to equal or rival Thee. Were the existence of any
co-equal with Thee to be recognized, how could it then be
maintained that Thou art the Incomparable, or that Thy Godhead
is immeasurably exalted above all peers or likeness? The
contemplation of the highest minds that have recognized Thy
unity failed to attain unto the comprehension of the One Thou
hast created through the word of Thy commandment, how much more
must it be powerless to soar into the atmosphere of the
knowledge of Thine own Being. Every praise which any tongue or
pen can recount, every imagination which any heart can devise,
is debarred from the station which Thy most exalted Pen hath
ordained, how much more must it fall short of the heights which
Thou hast Thyself immensely exalted above the conception and the
description of any creature. For the attempt of the evanescent
to conceive the signs of the Uncreated is as the stirring of the
drop before the tumult of Thy billowing oceans. Nay, forbid it,
O my God, that I should thus venture to describe Thee, for every
similitude and comparison must pertain to what is essentially
created by Thee. How can then such similitude and comparison
ever befit Thee, or reach up unto Thy Self?
By Thy glory, O my God! Though I recognize and firmly believe
that no description which any except Thyself can give of Thee
can beseem Thy grandeur, and that no glory ascribed to Thee by
any save Thyself can ever ascend into the atmosphere of Thy
presence, yet were I to hold my peace, and cease to glorify Thee
and to recount Thy wondrous glory, my heart would be consumed,
and my soul would melt away.
My remembrance of Thee, O my God, quencheth my thirst, and
quieteth my heart. My soul delighteth in its communion with
Thee, as the sucking child delighteth itself in the breasts of
Thy mercy; and my heart panteth after Thee even as one sore
athirst panteth after the living waters of Thy bounty, O Thou
Who art the God of mercy, in Whose hand is the lordship of all
things!
I give thanks to Thee, O my God, that Thou hast suffered me to
remember Thee. What else but remembrance of Thee can give
delight to my soul or gladness to my heart? Communion with Thee
enableth me to dispense with the remembrance of all Thy
creatures, and my love for Thee empowereth me to endure the harm
which my oppressors inflict upon me.
Send, therefore, unto my loved ones, O my God, what will cheer
their hearts, and illumine their faces, and delight their souls.
Thou knowest, O my Lord, that their joy is to behold the
exaltation of Thy Cause and the glorification of Thy word. Do
Thou unveil, therefore, O my God, what will gladden their eyes,
and ordain for them the good of this world and of the world
which is to come.
Thou art, verily, the God of power, of strength and of bounty.
CXV
Thou seest, O my God, how the wrongs committed by such of Thy
creatures as have turned their backs to Thee have come in
between Him in Whom Thy Godhead is manifest and Thy servants.
Send down upon them, O my Lord, what will cause them to be
busied with each others' concerns. Let, then, their violence be
confined to their own selves, that the land and they that dwell
therein may find peace.
One of Thy handmaidens, O my Lord, hath sought Thy face, and
soared in the atmosphere of Thy pleasure. Withhold not from her,
O my Lord, the things Thou didst ordain for the chosen ones
among Thy handmaidens. Enable her, then, to be so attracted by
Thine utterances that she will celebrate Thy praise amongst
them.
Potent art Thou to do what pleaseth Thee. No God is there but
Thee, the Almighty, Whose help is implored by all men. |
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